Omarosa’s Publisher Responds To Trump’s Legal Threats

Simon and Schuster says they "will not be intimidated."

Omarosa Manigault Newman released her tell-all book, “Unhinged: An Insider’s Account of the Trump White House,” three days ago and it has sent Donald Trump into a frenzy. The president has ranted on Twitter, his staff members have been forced to defend themselves on cable news and now Trump has sued Omarosa. The president’s campaign filed arbitration, claiming she breached a 2016 nondisclosure agreement (NDA). In addition, 45’s team claimed her publisher, Simon and Schuster, will be subject to “substantial monetary damages and punitive damages.”

Now, Omarosa’s publisher has responded the legal threats in a statement obtained by CNN.

“While your letter generally claims that excerpts from the book contain ‘disparaging statements,’ it is quite telling that at no point do you claim that any specific statement in the book is false,” a statement from Simon and Schuster’s outside counsel Elizabeth McNamara, wrote. “Your client does not have a viable legal claim merely because unspecified truthful statements in the Book may embarrass the president or his associates. At base, your letter is nothing more than an obvious attempt to silence legitimate criticism of the president.”

The statement also references the NDA: “Put simply, the book’s purpose is to inform the public. Private contracts like the NDA may not be used to censor former or current government officials from speaking about non-classified information learned during the course of their public employment.”

The statement ends bitingly.

“My clients will not be intimidated by hollow legal threats and have proceeded with publication of the Book as schedule,” it read. “Should you pursue litigation against S&S, we are confident that documents related to the contents of the Book in the possession of President Trump, his family members, his businesses, the Trump Campaign, and his administration will prove particularly relevant to our defense.”

Clearly, Simon and Schuster was expecting a lawsuit, but Trump’s team were not expecting Hurricane Omarosa.